Rightmove founder raises£8m in shares sell-off
News Category: Industry News
Published: 23-Jun-2010
Ed Williams, founding managing director of Rightmove, sold almost half his ordinary shares in the company the day after Google Maps launched their free property search service.
The astute Williams showed impeccable timing, raising £8m by selling 1.14m shares – equivalent to a 1% stake in the company – just days ahead of Capital Gains Tax rises.
At an average price of 699.9p per share, he also did a great deal better than Connells, which sold its 18% stake of 21 million shares at the end of 2008, when each share was worth just 155p.
Williams has held shares in Rightmove since the company’s flotation on the stock market in March 2006. Following his disposal, Williams still holds 1,271,927 ordinary shares, which is around 1.1% of the company.
It is only the second time Williams has sold his shares in the company: in March 2007, he sold 300,000 shares, raising £1.1m.
Fellow co-founders Miles Shipside and Nick McKittrick have also done well out of their shares in Rightmove.
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